Jason Somerville Talks Platinum Passes at October's Run It Up Reno
Jason Somerville is a poker influencer. Everything he does moves the needle in the poker industry, and that includes his Run It Up Reno events at the Peppermill Resort and Casino. The schedule for the RIU Reno VII, which will take place Oct. 19-29, was released this week and it was all about expansion.
That includes an expanded schedule, more events, and some lucrative promotions. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the 11-day festival, which features 21 tournaments with $550K in GTDs, is that two people will walk away with $30,000 Platinum Passes to January’s PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship.
One of the passes will be given away in a $86 buy-in Moneymaker PSPC Tour event on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. The other will be a part of a special Platinum Pass Satellite Event at Noon on Monday, Oct. 29. Regarding the latter, players will have the opportunity to win their way in through any of the following activities:
- Wear the funniest costume in the NLH Partner Event at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21
- Sing the best Karaoke performance and/or duet performance during the Karaoke Party at Edge Nightclub at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25
- 1 raffle ticket for every $25+ purchase from RIU store during the ALL IN for Childhood Cancer Charity event. Five seats will be given away in the raffle
- Three seats awarded in a Platinum Pass Scavenger Hunt
- Past winners of RIU Reno gold trophy events are automatically granted a seat in the satellite
- Qualify through satellite on PokerStars and Draftkings
“I think I may have lost my mind honestly, it’s almost too much going on – the live stream, two Platinum Passes – we’ve really made it sick,” Somerville told PokerNews. “I’ve always wanted to do something for our past RIU Reno champions, like a leaderboard or something, and now letting any past RIU Reno trophy winner potentially represent us at the PSPC in The Bahamas, it’s super cool, such a cool opportunity. I pitched the idea to PokerStars and they thought it was super awesome. We have a reputation for the event being fun.”
Somerville: “I think it has a chance of being one of the biggest tournaments in Reno history."
Somerville also confirmed some of the big names that’ll be there including Chris Moneymaker, Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, Fintan “easywithaces” Hand, and contestants from the hit television show Survivor.
“The first Platinum Pass was awesome, but then when they said they were doing this Moneymaker Tour and they were interested in doing one in Reno, it was obvious to have it be a part of RIU Reno,” Somerville continued. “You don’t have to sell me on that one. I owe so much of my career to Chris Moneymaker, if not for his big win who knows where I would be. Doing something for the 15th anniversary of his win is frickin’ awesome.”
Other highlights on the schedule include not one, but two Taiwanese Poker tournaments (Somerville hosted the first-ever Taiwanese Poker tournament in May’s RIU Reno) as well as a short-deck event.
“If you’re a fan of Twitch like I am you haven’t missed a minute of the Triton Poker they’ve been running these last few weeks with Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew at Lex Veldhuis on commentary,” Somerville said of the new event. “I can’t wait to play it. Where else can you play it? It will be my first short-deck experience so I’m excited to get in there and see how it plays.”
With the expanded schedule and Platinum Pass opportunities the seventh edition of RIU Reno is positioned to be the biggest and best yet. Other highlights on the schedule include a $160 ALL IN for Childhood Cancer Charity Event, $125 Partner Event, and the $600 buy-in, $200K GTD Main Event.
“Whether you’re there, whether you’re at home, it’ll never be bigger than this one,” Somerville concluded. “I think it has a chance of being one of the biggest tournaments in Reno history. I know so many people who’ve said they’re going to make the trip. How can you not make the trip? It’s going to be so much fun. I think it’s going to be a nice blend of seasoned players and first-timers, and it’s going to be great getting all our Twitch streamers together.”
For more information, visit RunItUpReno.com.
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
